TAC-60 Options

Cold-Side Fan Shroud $6 – When flipping the cold-side fan over, you may direct the airflow for spot cooling or deep into an enclosure. The fan shroud creates turbulence in the heatsink that keeps the airflow cold. $6

With the following answers we have tried to anticipate most of your questions about TAC-60 Thermoelectric Air Conditioners. If you have a suggestion or need additional information, please let us know.

1.) What is an air-to-air exchanger?

An air-to-air exchanger is a device for the cooling of air in an electronics enclosure. Our TAC-60 units are delivered ready to be easily and quickly mounted. For cooling it uses electrical energy only. The same effects of a traditional compressor system can be obtained without the employment of gas or moving parts (except the fans).

2.) How does an air-to-air exchanger work?

Air-to-air exchangers utilize the Peltier effect whereby the heat is transferred via the flow of current through thermoelectric modules. One part absorbs the heat and, as a consequence, reduces the temperature (cold side) and the other part dissipates the heat to ambient (hot side). Fans are used to move air over heat sinks attached to both the hot and cold sides of the thermoelectric modules.

3.) What are the advantages over a compressor-based system?

There are no moving mechanical parts (except fans) so thermoelectric air-to-air exchangers are extremely reliable with an almost unlimited life span and require no maintenance (except possible fan replacement). "Static" construction makes TE exchangers immune to vibration thus allowing them to be used in any orientation and makes them particularly suitable for the application on moving systems including ships, aircraft and robots and vehicles like ambulances (to keep medication compartments at temperature).

A thermoelectric air-to-air exchanger does not contain any polluting substances such as CFC or other gases, has a more compact and simple structure than a compressor system and can be easily adapted and mounted.

4.) What are the major components of a thermoelectric air-to-air exchanger?

The heart of the system is one or more thermoelectric modules. The cold side of the module is connected to a heat sink with a fan (forced convection) that absorbs heat from within the enclosure and circulates the cooled air. The warm or "hot" side of the module is connected to another forced convection heat sink that dissipates the heat, absorbed through the cold side as well as the input power to the module/s, to ambient.

5.) How much heat can be transferred with a thermoelectric air-to-air exchanger?

The cooling capacity or QCmax for our thermoelectric air conditioners describes the number of Watts that can be removed from an enclosure without lowering the temperature below ambient (DT=0). This is also known as the nominal cooling capacity. In general, the QCmax value is of most interest for users who don't require cooling but rather simply don't want the air in the enclosure to increase in temperature above ambient.

TAC-60 Performance Curve

When cooling below ambient is necessary, the capacity in Watts or Btu/hour decreases as the exchanger works to provide colder temperatures. See the curves for a particular unit to see how many Watts can be extracted at a given temperature drop.

Each TAC-60 is rated for 60 Watts or 204 BTU/h. Simply add additional units, wired in series or in parallel to increase capacity. Contact our technical support for assistance as necessary.

6.) Can a thermoelectric air-to-air exchanger reduce the temperature below that of the ambient?

Most certainly, although we must not forget that the cooling capacity decreases as the difference in temperature between the air inside the enclosure and ambient increases. We must also consider that unless a suitable insulation is provided, the enclosure we want to cool tends to absorb heat from the environment making cold internal temperatures difficult to achieve.

7.) How precisely can a thermoelectric air-to-air exchanger control the temperature?

That depends on the type of control used and where the temperature is measured. Under ideal conditions, a tolerance of ± 0.1° C is possible.

8.) Where is the heat absorbed by the thermoelectric air-to-air exchanger transferred?

Since heat may not be destroyed, only transferred or distributed, it is dissipated into the ambient air surrounding the unit. The warm side of the unit is therefore always warmer than the air to which the heat is being transferred.

9.) Can a thermoelectric air-to-air exchanger be used for heating?

When inverting or reversing the direction of the current flow crossing the thermoelectric elements in the exchanger, the process itself inverts and the heat is moved in the opposite direction. Temperature may also be controlled in the heating mode. For this reason, ElectraCOOL exchangers are excellent in outdoor applications where ambient temperatures vary above and below a target temperature. With an appropriate "dual," or two set-point temperature controller (like the TLK38), you can program the TAC-60 to cool or to warm, as necessary. "Set it and forget it."

10.) How do we handle a thermoelectric air-to-air exchanger?

Each exchanger is a ready-to-be-integrated unit and can be quickly installed onto the respective enclosure or machine using only a few screws. TAC-60 is designed to be mounted by passing the cold-side through a square opening and resting part of the larger "hot-side" on the outside wall of the enclosure. The unit is secured by fastening with bolts or screws through holes in "L" brackets or flanges, mounted on both sides of the TAC-60. This attachment process compresses a neoprene gasket located on the hot-side heatsink, against the enclosure wall, making a watertight seal.
After the TAC-60 is firmly attached, simply connect the leads to a suitable power supply, which may or may not be equipped with a temperature control function. The standard TAC-60 is shipped with 36" long leads. Any of the leads may be cut to shorter lengths to reduce clutter within the enclosure.

11.) Must the exchanger be installed in a certain position?

Our exchangers may be mounted in any position as long as the dissipation of the heat is not impeded. The force of gravity does not represent an obstacle.

12.) What is the lifetime of a thermoelectric air-to-air exchanger?

The cooling modules in an exchanger are solid-state with a MTBF over 200,000 hours. The only maintenance required may be the replacement of fan/s.

13.) Is a thermoelectric exchanger reliable?

YES - In general operation, the only parts of the TAC-60 that needs service are the fans. We use very high quality fans but fans do wear out and will need replacement every few years.

We have thought this through and designed the TAC-60 so that fan replacement can be completed in just a few minutes, without removing the unit from the enclosure. Simply remove the four machine screws that hold the fan/s in place and gently pull the fan away from the unit. On the exterior heat-sink, either an AMP or Molex brand connector, or your specified connector, will be exposed for the technician to disconnect and reconnect the new fan.

14.) How much space does a TE air-to-air exchanger occupy?

Our TE units are, in general, extremely compact and occupy less space than a traditional compressor system. Each TAC-60 occupies only 6.5 x 4 inches so they are great for enclosure doors and thin control panels.

15.) What are the protection ratings for exchangers?

Our exchangers are "IP" protection rated according to rules IEC 529.

Standard units are IP20 rated and designed for use in a clean, dry environment. Upgrading to an IP55 rating (protected against dust and against water jet with nozzle) is available at slightly higher prices. This rating is similar to a Nema-4X rating.

16.) What is the lead-time for delivery?

Reasonable quantities are in stock. Call or email with your requirements.

17.) I need something different. Can you help?

Thanks to the information made available to us by way of our questionnaire we can put together, without cost or obligation, a first assessment of whether and how you could employ a thermoelectric exchanger to solve your specific problem.Click here for our AC questionnaire.

18.) How much does a TE air-to-air exchanger cost?

Like many state-of-the-art products, thermoelectric exchangers are not inexpensive but provide outstanding value. Standard TAC-60 units are about $200 USD with significant volume discounts. Outdoor units are about $50 more. Naturally, only you know what the benefits will be when cooling your electronics, or other components, as well as the cost in performance and reliability, if they are not.

Kindly call or e-mail us with your requirements for a prompt quotation.

Summary of TAC-60 Features:

Highly Reliable (Maintenance limited to fan repair or replacement)

Attractive and functional design

Easily adaptable to your needs

Quick and easy installation

Immune to vibration

Reversible (cools or heats)

Precise Temperature Control Available

Operation in any Orientation

Reasonably Compact Size with Small Footprint

Can remove heat from hermetically sealed enclosures

Very quiet - fan sounds only

Environmentally Friendly (No gases - CFCs)

RoHS Compliant

* We strongly support research into all things thermoelectric. It's our pleasure, and honor, to extend Colleges and Universities (.edu), U.S. National Laboratories (.gov) and US DOD buyers with a (.mil) e-mail address a 10% discount all packages. (TAC-60 Set $359.00 or TAC60-E Set $404.00)